Movable acrobatic figure toy



Aug. 30, 1966 M. C. TAYLOR MOVABLE ACROBATIC FIGURE TOY Filed 0G13. 28, 1964 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,269,054 MOVABLE ACROBATIC FIGURE TOY Marvin C. Taylor, Washington, D.C., assgnor to Fisher- Price Toys, Inc., East Aurora, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 407,075 6 Claims. (Cl. I6- 130) This invention relates to toys and more particularly to jumping jacks.

Jumping jacks have been known in the art for a very long time but they have a number lof disadvantages such as the difficulties of assembly, the ease of breakage, and high cost. Some prior art jumping jacks also admit the possibility of small parts breaking off, which can be swallowed by very young children.

The primary object of this 4invention is to provide a jumping jack which overcomes the aforesaid disadvantages.

An important object of the invention is to provide a jumping jack which may be molded of plastic and produced at low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jumping jack which is rugged in construction and reliable in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a jumping jack which is relatively unbreakable so that it is not likely that it will be broken into small parts which can be swallowed by very young children.

Other objects of the invention will appear as this description proceeds.

In its preferred form, the jumping jack of this invention is made of plastic parts and comprises a main plastic body plate which represents the rear of the body of the jumping jack. This `body plate is shaped to represent hips, shoulders, and a head. Molded into this back plate and projecting forwardly are four pins. Two of these pins are leg-supporting pins and are located adjacent the lower end of the body plate and the other two of the pins are arm-supporting pins and are located near the shoulders, respectively.

Right and left arms are provided, each of which has a hand-end and a shoulder-end. Adjacent the shoulderend of each arm is a pivot pin hole which receives one of the pins projecting from the body plate. Similarly, each leg has a hip-end defining a pivot pin hole which receives one of the pivot pins projecting forward from the lower end of the body plate. A rigid vertical bar is guided for motion in an up and down direction along the vertical center line of the front face of the body plate and has four rigid cam operators which respectively engage four cam surfaces which are in the form of indents in the arms and legs, so that when the aforesaid bar is pulled down, the arms and legs are caused to rotate about their respective pivots.

Other details of the invention will appear as this description proceeds.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a front view of the jumping jack with the front body plate omitted.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the jumping jack.

Referring to the drawings, the jumping jack has a rear body plate 10 shaped to represent shoulders 11, ahead 12, yand hip portions 13 and 14. Molded integrally with the plate 10 are four forwardly `directed pins 15, 16, 17, and 18. The pins 15 and 16 are arm-supporting pins and are respectively located adjacent to the two shoulders 11. Similarly, the two pins 17 and 18 are leg-supporting pins and they are respectively located adjacent the two hip portions 13 and 14. The two arms 19 and 20 have handends 19a and 20a, and shoulder-ends 19b and 2017. Adjacent the shoulder-ends of the arms 19 and 20 are two ICC holes for receiving the pins 15 and 16 so that the arms 19 `and 20 respectively rotate about the pins 15 and 16. The two inner faces of the shoulder-ends. 19h and 20b define indents having cam lsurfaces 19t` and 20c.

Two legs 21 and 22 are constructed in a manner similar to the two arms 19 and 20 except for details as to their specilic shapes. The legs, of cour-se, have foot-ends at their outer extremities and hip-ends which define pivot holes for the two pivots 17 and 1S.

The cam surfaces 21C and 22C are provided on indents in the hip-ends of the legs. A vertical rectangular bar 23, in a separate piece from the body plate 10, is guided by guide elements 10a and 10b which are molded integrally wit-h the body plate 10. The vertical operator 23 has cross bars 24 and 2S the ends of which engage the cam surfaces 19C, 20c, 21C and 22C respectively. The vertical operator 23 may have molded therewith a projection 26 for limiting the vertical movement thereof.

Projection 26 has another function. If it were omitted the bar 23 might be pulled down so far that the cross bars 24 and 25 would come out of the indents in the arms and ylegs thus destroying proper functioning of the jumping jack. The length of the cross bars, the size and shape of the indents, the location of the projection 26, and the position of the guide elements 10a and 10b are so related that this cannot happen.

A cord 27 may be fastened to the member 25 to enable easy vertical movement of the operator 23. An additional cord 28 may be provided for hanging the jumping jack from any suitable support.

The weight of the arms and legs acting through the four cam surfaces on the vertical bar 23 moves the bar to its uppermost operating position. Therefore, when the child pulls on the cord 27, the arms and legs are rotated to provide upward ymotion of the hands and feet. If the child then releases, or otherwise abruptly reduces the tension on, cord 27, the force of gravity will rotate the arms and legs downward, resulting in a characteristic noise in the nature of clank.

While the cam surfaces are preferably curved as shown they may be straight without departing from the `scope of the invention.

A front face 3G may be attached to the rear body plate 10 directly or indirectly as, for example, by attaching the same to guides 10a and 10b in any suitable way. In addition, front face 30 may be connected to the head 12 the same as the rear plate 10, whereby there is a threepoint connection between the front face 20I and the rear plate 10 providing exceptional ruggedness.

The thickness of the guide elements 10a and 10b, and -of the bottom part of the head are such as to leave enough space between the front and back plates to enable the arms and legs to ymove freely, but not enough space to permit twisting of the arms and legs upon their pivots with resultant jamming against the front and back plates. The holes in the arms and legs should be enough larger than the supporting pins to permit the arms and legs to move freely.

I claim to have invented:

1. A jumping jack comprising a first body plate shaped to represent part of the body of the jumping jack, said plate having four pivot pins projecting from one face thereof for supporting arms and legs, two of said pins being leg-supporting pins yand located adjacent the lower end of the body plate on opposite :sides of the vertical .center line of the body, the other two of said pins constituting arm-supporting pins and also being located re- -spectively on opposite sides of the vertical center line of the body and at a higher level than the leg-supporting pins, right and left arms each having a shoulder-end, each said arm defining a pivot pin hole adjacent its shoulderend through which said arm-supporting pins pass to thus provide for rotary movements of said arms about their respective pivot pins, right and left legs each having a hipend, each said leg dening a pivot pin hole adjacent its hip-end through which said leg-supporting pins pass to thus provide for rotary movements of said legs about their respective pivot pins, each arm at its shoulder-end and each leg at its hip-end defining a cam surface, a rigid vertical member passing between the hip-ends of the legs and the shoulder-ends of the arms and including four rigid cam operators which respectively engage the cam surfaces of the arms and legs to effect rotary movements of the arms and legs about their respective pivot pins when the vertical member is moved down, said plate having projecting from said one face guiding means for guiding the vertical member for limited up and down movement, and a second body plate attached to the rstnamed body plate and covering the vertical member, and the shoulder and hip-ends of the arms and legs.

2. A jumping jack as defined in claim 1 in which said rst body plate, said pivot pins and said guiding means comprise 'an integral plastic element, and said arms `and legs as well as said second body plate also being plastic elements.

3. The jumping jack of `claim 2 wherein said vertical member is a plastic element including a horizontally extending projection, said guiding means includes a generally horizontal surface disposed for engagement with said projection to limit the downward motion of said vertical member, and pull-string means is attached to the lower end of said vertical member for manually pulling said vertical member downward.

4. A toy as defined in claim 1 in which said -cam surfaces are curved.

5. The jumping jack of claim 1 including pull-string means attached to the lower end of said vertical member for manually pulling said vertical member downward.

6. The jumping jack of claim 1 wherein said vertical member includes a horizontally extending projection and wherein stop means is disposed between said first and second body plates for engagement with said projection to limit the downward motion of said vertical member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,377 11/1912 Gray 46*135 X 1,927,861 9/1933 wypy 46-107 2,595,971 5/1952 Mossbauer 46-120 References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,038,057 9/1912 Younger. 1,882,034 10/1932 Raugstad. 2,887,820 5/1959 Beyer.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

L. l. BOVASSO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A JUMPING JACK COMPRISING A FIRST BODY PLATE SHAPED TO REPRESENT PART OF THE BODY OF THE JUMPING JACK, SAID PLATE HAVING FOUR PIVOT PINS PROJECTING FROM ONE FACE THEREOF FOR SUPPORTING ARMS AND LEGS, TWO OF SAID PINS BEING LEG-SUPPORTING PINS AND LOCATED ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF THE BODY PLATE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE VERTICAL CENTER LINE OF THE BODY, THE OTHER TWO OF SAID PINS CONSTITUTING ARM-SUPPORTING PINS AND ALSO BEING LOCATED RESPECTIVELY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE VERTICAL CENTER LINE OF THE BODY AND AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE LEG-SUPPORTING PINS, RIGHT AND LEFT ARMS EACH HAVING A SHOULDER-END, EACH SAID ARM DEFINING A PIVOT PIN HOLE ADJACENT ITS SHOULDEREND THROUGH WHICH SAID ARM-SUPPORTING PINS PASS THE THUS PROVIDE FOR ROTATARY MOVEMENTS OF SAID ARMS ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE PIVOT PINS, RIGHT AND LEFT LEGS EACH HAVING A HIPEND, EACH SAID LEG DEFINING A PIVOT PIN HOLE ADJACENT ITS HIP-END THROUGH WHICH SAID LEG-SUPPORTING PINS PASS TO THUS PROVIDE FOR ROTATARY MOVEMENTS OF SAID LEGS ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE PIVOT PINS, EACH RAM AT ITS SHOULDER-END AND EACH LEG AT ITS HIP-END DEFINING A CAM SURFACE, A RIGID VERTICAL MEMBER PASSING BETWEEN THE HIP-ENDS OF THE LEGS AND THE SHOULDER-ENDS OF THE ARMS AND INCLUDING FOUR RIGID CAM OPERATORS WHICH RESPECTIVELY ENGAGE THE CAM SURFACES OF THE ARMS AND LEGS TO EFFECT ROTARY MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMS AND LEGS ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE PIVOT PINS WHEN THE VERTICAL MEMBER IS MOVED DOWN, SAID PLATE HAVING PROJECTING FROM SAID ONE FACE GUIDING MEANS FOR GUIDING THE VERTICAL MEMBER FOR LIMITED UP AND DOWN MOVEMENT, AND A SECOND BODY PLATE ATTACHED TO THE FIRSTNAMED BODY PLATE AND COVERING THE VERTICAL MEMBER, AND THE SHOULDER AND HIP-ENDS OF THE ARMS AND LEGS. 